A most fundamental human right

In 2005 I accompanied a group of students and staff from the University of Plymouth on a two week study tour of South Africa. We spent most of our time in and around Cape Town, visiting schools in the city and in the townships. We also took the motorboat out to Robben Island - the notorious former penal colony throughout South Africa's apartheid regime. It is infamous because it was the 'home' for many years of Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and many other prominent political prisoners. One of the first things that strikes you about Robben Island as soon as you arrive on the quayside is that it is incredibly exposed to the elements. In the summer it is an oven, with the sun reflecting intensely off the stones and sand, while in the winter it is icy cold as the southern Antarctic winds whip across it mercilessly.

We were escorted around by one of the official guides on the island - a contemporary of Nelson Mandela, and fellow former prisoner - Lionel Davis (pictured with me above). Lionel talked to us about the harsh conditions in the prison, and the fact that all the prisoners had to work in the quarry breaking stones for hours each day with no shelter, and without sunglasses to shield their eyes from the glare of the sun. Some went on to develop cataracts. The prison is a museum now, and also stands as a poignant tribute to the suffering many of the prisoners endured at the hands of brutal guards. Lionel told us of the beatings and other, worse punishments, and showed us the cramped conditions of the cells. I stood outside Nelson Mandela's cell and was appalled at how small it was (pictured below). I asked him why he was still on the island after his own suffering there - why had he not left and never come back? He said to me 'Steve - every time I do this tour - it gets easier for me.' It was cathartic for him - a way of banishing the demons.

The remarkable things about the political prisoners on Robben Island were their resilience, and their positive attitudes to their situation. They really believed in what they were standing up for. During the dying years of Apartheid, when conditions began to improve, many applied for, and were successful in securing time and resources for study. Several enrolled at the University of South Africa (UNISA) and studied at a distance, from their prison cells. Lionel himself was awarded a School Leaver's Certificate through his study in prison, and eventually went on to achieve a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Art from the University of Cape Town. I feel very humble when I think of these men and what they achieved. It wasn't just the monumental victory they achieved over oppression. It was their personal triumph too. It truly was learning against all odds - lifelong learning in the truest sense, and in the harshest of environments. We often complain about our education systems and how they should be improved, and that is our right. But we must never forget that in many countries, there are still harsh political regimes that deny many their rights to freedom of speech and that most fundamental human right - a good education.


A most fundamental human right by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.